World ranked No. 8 Cuba won their first Caribbean Cup gold medal, beating No. 28 Curacao in the gold medal game 3-1 at Estadio Concepción Pérez Alberto in Fajardo, Puerto Rico.
Cuba won all four games they played at the Caribbean Cup, with rainouts on four of the first five days of the tournament. Cuba’s next event will be the Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile, which start on October 18.
Curacao went 2-2 at the Caribbean Cup.
Cuba starting pitcher Yoennis Yera faced 23 batters, throwing six innings with 88 pitches and allowing five hits, one earned run, no walks, and 10 strikeouts.
Curacao started the game with two base hit singles from shortstop Andrelton Simmons in the first pitch of the game to left field and third baseman Raywendley Van Gurp placing a single to left center field right out of the gate.
The third batter, Darren Seferina grounded out to second, allowing Simmons to score the first run of the game.
Curacao starting pitcher Arlison Rodriguez cruised his way through the gold medal game as he threw 65 pitches to 17 batters, throwing 4.2 innings and allowing four hits, one walk, and striking out three before manager Carlos Pineda called upon relief pitcher Nick Keur in the bottom of the fifth inning.
During the bottom of the fifth, Cuba tied the score up at one when center fielder Roel Santos hit an RBI single to left field, scoring catcher Andrys Perez. Curacao left fielder Erickson Leonora threw the ball into the infield to third baseman Raywendley Van Gurp, who sent it to Simmons and Seferina, catching Mujica in a rundown for the final out of the inning.
In the bottom of the sixth, Cuba third baseman Roberto Baldoquin ripped a double down the right field line to lead off the inning. A few batters later, Arruebarrena lifted a towering two-run home run over the center field wall for a 3-1 lead.
In the top of the seventh inning, Cuba pitching coach Pedro Lazo and manager Armando Johnson called on relief pitcher Renner Rivero to close out the game. Rivero got Curacao designated hitter Swindley Lint to ground out to short for the final out of the game, and Cuba won their first gold medal at the Caribbean Cup.
“I’m proud of my team and this is good preparation for the Pan American Games in Chile. I was concentrating on the new pitchers and I got a breaking pitch to damage on to hit it out,” Arruebarrena told World Baseball Network following the game.
Johnson will evaluate his roster for the 2023 Pan American Games during the next few days.
This will be the second year the Federación Cubana de Béisbol will be operating the Elite League in the winter, which will start on November 7. The winner of the league will not participate in the 2024 Caribbean Series in Miami, after being invited last year to the event during the 2023 tournament in Caracas, Venezuela.
Cuba will play in the 2023 Pan American Games this month in Cerrillos, Chile, from October 18-28 at the Baseball and Softball Center.
The Pan American Games will have a total of eight nations in the baseball event, including No. 3 Mexico, No. 6 Venezuela, No. 10 Dominican Republic, No. 12 Panama, No. 15 Colombia, No. 24 Brazil, and host nation Chile, which is not ranked in the World Baseball Rankings.
Bronze Medal Game: Puerto Rico 5, United States Virgin Islands 3